Mintel analyst Laura Jones tells BeverageDaily.com that use of monk fruit as an all-natural, zero calorie sweetener has tripled in the past five years, but says she believes it still has taste issues to overcome.

“The use of monk fruit (luo han guo or LHG) extract is definitely increasing. Launches of food and drink containing monk fruit have tripled over the past five years,” said Mintel global food science analyst Jones.

“Barriers? Mostly, it’s the cost. It’s a lot more expensive, but it’s also hampered at the moment by regulations."

(There are two Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS) suppliers of LHG in the United States, Guilin LAYN Natural Ingredients Corp (LAYN) and Biovittoria Ltd, with the latter's products now distributed by Tate & Lyle.)

Jones said the monk fruit was mostly used as a standalone sweetener at the moment – rather than in a blend with stevia or crystalline fructose, a trend noted in food and beverage formulation with LHG by Amax NutraSource last March – with iced tea and confectionery the main growth categories.

Still twice the price of stevia...

But she warned: “Some people say it has an ‘off’ taste. Not the bitterness of stevia, but I think it will still have taste issues.” Amax NutraSource claims that LHG improves stevia’s taste profile and eliminates its bitterness.

Amax NutraSource business development manager, Steve Light, told BeverageDaily.com today: "We routinely get approached by stevia providers regarding LHG and blending techniques. We have seen several new beverage releases of LHG/stevia over the last few months."

For zero calorie blends Light said Amax saw erythritol/LHG being used, as well as crystalline fructose and water soluble fibers.

"There is a growing trend towards reduced calorie blends. These are fused blends with LHG and sugar cane, brown sugar, molasses and honey," Light added, while admitting that LHG pricing remains twice that of stevia, as he noted last March.

Manufacturers make fruity mileage with monk fruit

Asked how monk fruit could create a USP against stevia-derived sweeteners in the marketplace, beyond being ‘all natural’ and zero calorie, Jones said the fact that it is derived from a fruit “is a point that manufacturers can push, because fruit is considered healthy, and also naturally sweet by the consumer”.

Mintel data showed that ‘all natural’ ingredients were an important food and beverage purchase driver for 61% of consumers, Jones said, but she said she thought taste issues were “still the main thing holding stevia back at the moment”, since having no unpleasant taste/aftertaste was important to 83% of consumers.

Nonetheless, major supplier PureCircle – with its next generation ‘Stevia 3.0’ extracts – said last year it had gone beyond high purity Rebaudioside A alone (Stevia 2.0) to develop better taste profiles using other steviol glycosides derived from the leaf, enabling manufacturers to cut calories by up to 40-50%.

“There have been a lot more products coming out that have not just been formulated with stevia, but a combination of products to try to mask stevia’s bitterness – because consumers have rejected stevia-only launches, it has been a problem,” Jones said.

“In the US we’ve seen Coke’s Glacéau Vitamin Water – a zero brand using stevia but also erythritol and crystalline fructose to offset the stevia taste. This kind of move is much more popular than a straight stevia formulation,” she added.

“But in Europe, erythritol is still not approved for beverage use – so formulators have to work around that and potentially look at using sweetener enhancers.”

Challenging times for ‘non-natural sweeteners’?

Despite lingering taste issues, did Jones believe that the old guard of non-natural sweeteners – the likes of sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) – were under threat from natural alternatives in the US?

“I definitely think there is a threat from the natural sweeteners, particularly stevia,” Jones said. “Because although there is no sound evidence that aspartame, say, is bad – it’s approved as a food additive – there’s still the consumer perception that artificial sweeteners could cause health problems.

“So if consumers could have a natural sweetener, rather than an artificial one, that’s what they’d choose, given the trend towards natural ingredients being ‘good for you’.”

Artificial sweeteners will survive and thrive

However, Jones stressed that manufacturers would continue to use artificial sweeteners – due to their lower cost and the fact that they currently taste better than most all-natural sweeteners on the market.

(One next generation ‘ultra intense’ artificial sweetener developed by The NutraSweet Company is neotame, x8000 sweeter than sugar and chemically similar to aspartame, but reportedly more stable.)

“Using a natural ingredient is usually going to cost more than one artificially manufactured in the lab – you’ll get greater yields there. And the production process is going to be quicker, at least compared to when you’re growing a plant then extracting from that,” Jones added.

*When this article was first published, we incorrectly stated that Amax NutraSource and Tate & Lyle were the two GRAS-approved suppliers of LHG in the US.

This content is copyright protected

However, if you would like to share the information in this article, you may use the headline, summary and link below:

Mintel analyst Laura Jones tells BeverageDaily.com that use of monk fruit as an all-natural, zero calorie sweetener has tripled in the past five years, but says she believes it still has taste issues to overcome.

Related products

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

06-Feb-2015 - The Coca-Cola Company invested in Chicago-based co-operative Fairlife LLC in December 2012, and since then the company’s star has only risen further. Here, CEO Steve Jones introduces the company and its mission, looking at trends in dairy and the ‘protein...

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

06-Feb-2015 - Ingredients such as chia, ancient grains and flaxseed have captured the interest of health-conscious consumers, and more and more beverage companies are taking notice. But where to begin? Long-time beverage ingredient innovator and turnkey formulator Glanbia Nutritionals will offer insights...

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

06-Feb-2015 - We interrupt this webinar to bring you breaking news in functional beverages. Only on AIDP News Channel will you hear from experts in the field of functional beverages. AIDP is known as being an innovator in function and our top...

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

06-Feb-2015 - Stand out in the competitive beverage marketplace and satisfy consumers’ thirst for fun by adding the creamy, smooth mouthfeel and visual appeal of foam and froth. Using naturally sourced foaming agents, you can add superior, long-lasting foams to a variety...

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

08-Jan-2015 - What are the fastest-growing beverage categories and which consumer trends are successful firms tapping into? ‘Real’ sugar? Fermented beverages? Plant waters? And how are companies such as Keurig changing the beverage landscape? Hear from a beverage entrepreneur, a retailer, a...

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

08-Jan-2015 - Just as with the search for the Fountain of Youth, The Lost Arc or the Meaning of Life; the Holy Grail of functional beverages seems to be an ongoing quest that few of us have been able to conquer, until...

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

08-Jan-2015 - Social media has forever changed the way consumers talk to one another (and the way companies and consumers talk to each other, too). Find out how you can use social media to take your beverage business to the next level.

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

08-Jan-2015 - With annual sales approaching $9B, the US protein beverage market is thriving. The category has quickly become a destination for busy, health conscious, active consumers of all ages. Capturing mainstream consumers can be lucrative for marketers, but one that...

On-Demand Supplier Webinar

08-Jan-2015 - FoodNavigator-USA & BeverageDaily have gathered together CEOs from some of the most innovative beverage companies in the US from Mamma Chia and KeVita to Vertical Water and KonaRed to discuss growth opportunities in the beverage aisle; how difficult it is...

Technical / white paper

26-Mar-2015 - “Simplifying Sweetness” is an unprecedented segmentation study of 15,000 consumers. Commissioned by the Corn Refiners Association and completed in part by Nielsen and Mintel Consulting, this study compares consumer sentiment toward sweeteners to actual purchase data, to see if consumer...

Technical / white paper

18-Mar-2015 - Consumer consciousness of foods and their impact on health has risen to new levels on a global basis. Stevia is a natural sweetener solution to meet the concerns expressed by consumers. Ingredion has successfully formulated a wide range of products...

Technical / white paper

17-Mar-2015 - Inflammation affects heart health, arthritis and many other health issues – and growing evidence suggests that nutrition is part of the solution. Seize this opportunity with custom nutrient premixes.Any nutrient. Any application. Anywhere in the world.

Clinical study

01-Mar-2015 - Looking for an ingredient that can deliver serious hydration, endurance and recovery benefits for your next sports bar, beverage or supplement? Sustamine® is a science-supported ingredient that can: enhance electrolyte and water absorption in the intestines; stimulate glycogen synthesis; inhibit muscle...

Data sheet

24-Feb-2015 - The 2015 Sweetener360: Are You Marketing to Buzz or Behavior?With over 15,000 consumers surveyed, we’ve validated our findings from 2014—what consumers say and what they do don’t always align. Take a look at the 2015 Sweetener360 SlideShare deck for these...

Technical / white paper

23-Feb-2015 - Understanding worldwide consumer needs to create successful food & drink productsClean Label has been the top theme in the food & beverage industry in the last years – and it is still growing in importance. But what exactly does Clean...